Oral Answers to Questions

Helen Maguire Excerpts

Tuesday 10th November 2026 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell) (LD)]

1. What steps he is taking to improve rehabilitative programmes in prisons.

[The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Alex Norris)]

Education, skills and work are central to rehabilitation. We are modernising prison education and creating a joined-up system that supports prisoners in progressing from basic literacy to skills training and work experience. We are also tackling the root causes of offending through offender behaviour programmes and substance misuse treatment.

[Helen Maguire]

Many ex-prisoners experience challenges after prison, particularly when trying to reintegrate into society, which is really difficult to do. We know that 40% of prisoners reoffend within one year, and that reoffending costs £22.7 billion per year; at the same time, 97% of prison capacity is taken. Will the Secretary of State ensure that ex-prisoners are properly supported, so that they can positively integrate into society, and reoffending can be reduced?

[Alex Norris]

That is an important point. It is great to start Question Time on a note of unanimity, and I am sure that one view that we all hold in common in this place is that when people leave prison, we do not want them to return and reoffend. The key to that is a multi-agency approach locally, starting before individuals leave prison. We are working closely with local government partners to ensure more effective pre-release planning work.